Over 3 lakh say yes to smart city plan in Navi Mumbai

NAVI MUMBAI: Over 3.5 lakh taxpayers want their city to be selected as smart city. The response was as much as the votes polled during the civic elections (3.94 lakh) in April. The positive reactions came in response to the civic body seeking the public’s opinion.

Civic commissioner D T Waghmare said that the response has been huge and the responses are being processed.

“It is a people-centric plan, as mandated by the Central government,” he added. He added that they got such a huge response due to the methodical manner in which the forms were distributed to the students, who then passed it over to their parents and also active involvement of other stakeholders like NGOs and citizens forums.

Waghmare also said that there has been “a thrust on providing walkways, free access to footpath, environment-friendly mass transit system and other measures such as use of treated water and ensuring a safe city.’’

NMMC had launched the initiative with a detailed presentation at Vishnudas Bhave auditorium in September.

City engineer Mohan Dagaonkar, who is overseeing the plan, said that the proposals and suggestions are being scrutinized, “and we need to submit the plan first to state government.’’

The commissioner will then submit the plan to Central government around mid-December, so that Navi Mumbai to be selected for the first phase of smart city project and receive funding for its various projects. The state government had earlier sent a list of 10 cities to the Centre. Local BJP MLA Manda Mhatre said that the city would qualify, as she felt it was the gateway to Pune and Konkan areas, with already high social indices and good infrastructure.